Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52526554

So, mask or no mask? It’s almost the same tedious debate as helmets or segregated cycle paths. At this stage I’d say if it stops the speed of infections you do it. Just like wearing a helmet or introducing cycle paths.
The facts are there, read into them what you want.

As far as Bluetooth apps on phones, not going to happen I think. I have little objection to getting an Amber alert when I’ve been in an area where a cluster of infections broke out, get google to give you the data until we have vaccinated the majority of the place you live in or stayed in.

At this stage I’d say if it stops the speed of infections you do it. Just like wearing a helmet or introducing cycle paths.
The facts are there, read into them what you want.

Wait, cycle helmets stop infections? Is this because no one looks attractive in one, so no person, bacteria or virus will interact with wearers?

Has anyone researched the difference between economies based on cash versus plastic?
The Nordic countries have had slightly different measures, but all of them have managed to keep the outbreak more or less in check despite having less stringent measures than Southern European countries.
One of the first things that come to my mind is how the Nordics are mostly cashless. Unless you need to buy drugs you can go years without ever touching a note or coin.

Simply memorise "142857" and rotate the digits as necessary to achieve the correct fraction

Thanks. If I´m ever single again I´ll use this to pull a tasty math(s) teacher.

Seeing a whole load of return to work speculation the last 24hrs, but nothing about return to school/nursery - are these things not expected to go hand in hand?

Surely they must be? You cant go back to work if you have to stay home with your children?

Sunday's speculation was that year 6 would go back right after half term followed by, I think, A-level students.
I think that reception and year 3 should be first to go back.

think that reception and year 3 should be first to go back.

Close, but surely reception and Y4 makes more sense?

I think you need to think about support staff and their ages and the age of the staff.
Schools going back is ages off.

i think that's why year 6 are going back first. they'll be trained up to teach the younger years.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/05/uk_coronavirus_app/

...sigh. It's looking to be a mess.

Oh, and the Leave campaign AI firm is involved in it, and lots of other government contracts. Nepotism is alive and well.

But they couldn't get them to do the EU Settled Status App, perhaps that was too difficult :p

The plan I read was Y6 (primary leavers) > Y10 and 12 (next year gcse and A levels) > rest of primary > rest of secondary.
That was starting in June so unlikely everyone will get back before the holidays I think - won't be enough staff etc.

I wonder if initially (but after year 6) they'll bring the kids back part time so that on any given day there are only about 40% in each year group and everyone does 2 days a week (or something like that).

“The Office for National Statistics said 29,648 deaths had taken place as of April 24 in England and Wales with COVID-19 mentioned in death certificates.

Including deaths for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the official toll now stands at 32,313. That is more than Italy, previously Europe’s worst hit country, though its toll does not include suspected cases.“

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If Italy is not counting the suspected cases in their total, even if clinically diagnosed, their total could be significantly different if tests are not accurate, or if deceased aren't tested at all.

Everyone is gaming their numbers.

I know. I just find it a bit strange given that, as far as I know, it seems the UK hasn't had anything like the problems with ICU/oxygen that were being reported in Italy.

From what I remember, ICU usage has been high, but still within the limits of capacity in the UK. In Italy, it seems about half of all deaths happened / are happening in Lombardy, a region with ~10m inhabitants and >14k deaths, while a lot of other regions were significantly less affected. In comparison, Greater London with (I assume) the highest density of population in the UK and about ~9m inhabitants has had <7k deaths*.

*Using this calculation: ~5.2k deaths in hospital, which are ~80% of total deaths (same source, citing ONS) --> 5.2k/0.8 = 6.5k

The numbers are a bit wobbly in detail, but the point is that I think Italy has had it way worse in Lombardy specifically, but less bad in other regions. The horror stories you've read have mostly been from those really badly affected areas.

This is a good point, which I had completely forgotten about!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000htrs

R4 gave Hitchens quite a bit of airtime, ditto Giesecke. The notion that economic depressions automatically kill people seemed to be taken as a given.

The numbers are a bit wobbly in detail, but the point is that I think Italy has had it way worse in Lombardy specifically, but less bad in other regions. The horror stories you've read have mostly been from those really badly affected areas.

Basically the Italian got caught with their trouser down and trying their best to bring it up.

While us, in the UK, slowly put down our trouser to show the world how much of a cocks we are, give it five more minutes then slowly bring it back up again and release an app.

Well, they do, if you don't help the poor.

depressions are bad to the point where societies and governments find it very hard to help their least fortunate.

Depression <> Recession, mind - the later is pretty much a given, now the trick is not to fall in to the former

Levy also glossed over the fact that as soon as someone agrees to share their information with UK government – by claiming to feel unwell and hitting a big green button – 28 days of data from the app is given to a central server from where it can never be recovered. That data, featuring all the unique IDs you've encountered in that period and when and how far apart you were, becomes the property of NCSC – as its chief exec Matthew Gould was forced to admit to MPs on Monday. Gould also admitted that the data will not be deleted, UK citizens will not have the right to demand it is deleted, and it can or will be used for “research” in future.

There goes the gdpr right to be forgotten.
This stinks. UK govt seems to repeatedly think 'having a bash at it' will be good enough and that this stuff doesn't actually need to be done by experts. I think an article in here followed a similar theme on this attitude.